A pendant made from a bear's tooth found in excavations at the Khotylyovo 2 site

The first lower canine of a brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) found at the Khoty-lyovo 2 site of the Eastern Gravettian Culture is described. The root section of the caninetooth has notches across it, which makes it possible to interpret this object precisely as apendant. The way this bear''s tooth would have been suspended differs from that used forthe teeth of common or arctic foxes which have holes made through the root section andhave been found at the Khotylyovo 2 site. The technique used for cutting out horizontalgrooves across the root is differing from that used on similar objects found at sites of theEarly Upper Palaeolithic in Western Europe. A description of the archaeological contextof the find is also provided. Differences in the morphology of brown bears'' canines andthose of lions of the Pleistocene era (Panthera spelaea) are discussed as well as the vari-ations in dimensions of the canine teeth of various sub-species of modern and Pleistocenebrown bears in Eurasia. On the basis of the measurements conclusions are drawn regard-ing the sex, age and size of the bear from the Khotylyovo 2 site.